The Mark He Bore
by ForestRaider
Summary: Dean was born a healthy baby and John and Mary couldn't be happier. However they noticed a mark on Dean's arm that promised dark futures for all of them.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 **Summary: Dean was born a healthy baby and John and Mary couldn't be happier. However they noticed a mark on Dean's arm that promised dark futures for all of them.**

"Oh John he's beautiful." A weak voice rasped and John hid his wince of fear and adrenaline as he stared at his beautiful wife, and his beautiful newborn son.

"He sure is Mary.." John murmured as he leaned over Mary and let her head rest under his chin as he stared down at the baby in Mary's arms.

He was just freshly cleaned and was squirming around in Mary's arms as she had him wrapped up in a blanket and she smiled.

A doctor decided to come in at that moment, hoping that the family would believe the news he was about to bore down on them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Winchester?" He asked shyly as he stared at the couple and they both turned their heads to look at him. John straightened himself and nodded.

"Uh I've got some news about the baby." The doctor informed them and shuddered as he saw John's eyes darken slightly. He could see the father was already getting protective of the child.

"We didn't notice this before but your son has quit a weird birthmark that has made many raise their eyebrows." He explained as calmly as he could as he glanced down at the photo pinned in his clipboard.

"Where?" Mary asked as she slightly lifted her son to inspect him.

"His right arm Ma'am."

Mary carefully unwrapped the baby until she could grab his arm. When she did, she immediately noticed on the inner forearm of the tiny appendage was a mark.

She frowned at the mark and at first she thought there must be some paint. If her baby wasn't just born, she'd have suspected it was a tattoo. Especially the way it was red around the edges like it was just applied and stung.

"What is this?" She asked as she looked over at the doctor who was also staring at the mark now.

"I'm unsure Mrs. It's just we have no clue how it appeared since it's big enough to spot easily but none of the doctors noticed it until we were wrapping him up to bring back to you." The doctor explained as he watched John carefully grab his son's arm and run his finger against the mark.

"I'll uh.. Leave you two and another doctor should come in shortly to examine you and your newborn. Congratulations." The doctor hurriedly explained as he ran out.

The two new parents exchanged worried looks.

"Well.. I've never seen a birthmark like this before." John murmured as he continued to rub his son's angry mark and Mary sighed.

"It doesn't mean that it can't happen though. As long as it's not some crazy skin disease." She spoke in a weaker tone as she began to get more and more tired.

"Just rest Mary. I'll cradle him." John kissed her softly and took the baby from her arms as he sat down and hugged his child. Tears filled his eyes as he stared down at the child whom stared right back up at him.

He took a final glance at the mark before he put the limb back into the blanket and rocked his baby.

Unbeknownst to the parents however, a male watched them from the hallway, smirking as he looked at the newborn that would grow to be the perfect servant of hell. Being marked and claimed as early as now, the child would not know what right and wrong would be. When the child would be thrown out, he would be there, waiting for him to begin his training to become a Knight of Hell.

* * *

So.. Super short prologue but it's kinda just to explain things and get things started in the story. Chapter 1 is longer (I think. I have a couple chapters written already but I don't know how long any of them are yet x) ) I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I think I'll post either the next chapter today, or tomorrow. Depends on how much reviews and favs this gets ;) I love ya'll and have a good day! 3


	2. Chapter 1: Four (And a half) Years Later

**The Mark He Bore**

 **A/N: Hey guys the support you gave me was AWESOME! Seriously thanks so much guys! Massive shout out to the reviews though (*cough cough* DGirl, NourWinChester, Serpico, and babyreaper *cough*) I'll get around to responding to your comments soon. Until then, everyone enjoy this next chapter! Much luv 3**

 **Chapter 1: Four (and a half) years Later.**

The rush to the daycare was horrible. There were so many red lights that John was considering just running them all, tickets be damned.

Plus all of the radio stations had no good music on. All of this stupid pop crap that was just starting to become popular and he sighed roughly. He had to remind himself to start making tapes of all of his rock songs so he didn't have to deal with this.

Not only that, he was skipping work right now because of a phone call stating that he had to come pick up his son immediately.

So when he finally reached the daycare with Dean sitting on the steps outside, his eyebrow began to twitch as he restrained himself from shaking his son from his shoulders wildly to make him snap out of this bully streak he's had.

"Dean. Get in." He growled out as he rolled down the window and Dean looked up and suddenly seemed extremely comfortable on the cement stairs. John wasn't going to ask his four year old again however and Dean seemed to realize that as he slowly got up and sulked over to the Impala. As he got into the back, John glanced into the rear-view mirror and blinked in shock at the shiner he was sporting. He whirled around in his seat and stared at Dean with owlish eyes.

"The hell Dean?! What are you doing at daycare? Wrestling?" He snapped, trying to force his voice quieter but his rage at everything was bubbling higher.

Dean winced as if expecting a hit and turned his gaze to the floor.

"It's not my fault nobody likes me.." Dean mumbled as his bottom lip trembled.

And just like that, John's anger went from one hundred to zero ten times faster than anything and he almost felt dizzy.

"Aw Dean.. I'm sorry for getting mad. You know I like you kiddo." He reassured his son who ignored his words and tears began to pool in his green eyes.

Sighing, he turned the engine off and got out of the driver seat and got into the back. Dean looked over at him with a confused look but John didn't say anything as he pulled his son into a huge hug and cradled him in his arms.

Dean shook softly as he hid his small face into John's coat and John whispered soothing words to him like Mary does whenever Dean has nightmares. Which.. Happens frequently. More than John knew a four year old should have. So Mary has banned any horror movies or shows from being played in the house. Hell, even his heavier music has been put away since Mary is also convinced that the themes could be encouraging Dean's overactive mind.

"Tell me what happened kiddo." John murmured as Dean eventually calmed down enough.

"W-Well.. I was just coloring and stupid Tim-"

 _Yeah Tim sounds like a stupid name_ John mused.

"called my birthmark stupid like me." Dean explained and John blinked in surprise. He unconsciously glanced down to the mark on Dean's arm. It had grown along with Dean amazingly. It wasn't much, but it was still quite obvious as it was a dark red mark on Dean's pale skin.

"I told him to leave me alone but he kept teasing my mark.. He even said things about you guys so I punched him.. A adult came over and tried to stop us but.." Dean's voice grew quieter and John's anger suddenly came back in full blast. But it wasn't directed at everything this time no. It was directed at the helper.

"Did they punch you?" John asked quietly, trying to keep himself back from storming in there and accidentally scarring all the children with his language and actions not suited for kids under five.

"It was my fault really.." Dean grumbled and John waited for him to explain.

"He was trying to grab Tim but I kinda got in the way and I took their arm off of Tim so I could get to Tim but their arm hit me." Dean tried to explain and John sighed roughly.

"It's not your fault Dean. How about we go get ice cream or something." John said to him as he got back into the front of the Impala and drove them quickly out of there.

As he kept looking back at Dean, he decided on two things. One: he wasn't allowing Dean back into the place. Not after he was hit by one of the helper's and not only that, but left him to sit alone outside without even coming to apologize or explain to John.

And two: he wasn't allowing Dean to walk around right now. People are extremely sensitive about child abuse at the moment after some poor kid was beaten to death by his father. The last thing John needed was a court summoning or something for Dean having a black eye!

So John grabbed them both an ice cream cone and they sat in the Impala and ate them while Dean complained about the music. John smiled behind his ice cream as he couldn't agree more.

As they got home, Mary was making lunch for them and John suddenly realized that he was still expected at work as he caught Mary's confused expression.

"Yeah I'm going." John kissed her cheek as she questioned him and patted Dean's head and raced out the door to return to his workshop.

Dean was left in the living room with Mary humming in the kitchen and Sam sitting on the table in a small chair.

Dean sighed and laid on the couch, bored out of his mind. He just wanted to do something like maybe throw a ball or something. But the last couple times he had done that well.. He had hit John with the baseball accidentally then afterwards hit a window.

Still. Dean felt like he needed to work on his aim.

So he snatched a bouncy ball from his room and crept outside where he stood by the tree and began to throw the ball against the tree, giggling as it would go flying everywhere and he chased after it wildly.

However, he stopped and stared quizzically at the ball as it suddenly froze in the air. He may be four, but he's not stupid and he knows that whatever goes up, must come back down.

"Hello Dean." A deep voice spoke from behind him and the toddler turned to see a tall man looming over him, wearing a tan coat.

In a way, he reminded Dean of his father. Just because both of their hair is always messy.

"Who are you?" Dean asked as he went over to his ball and snatched it out of the air.

"My name is Castiel. I'm not of importance right now however. I need to talk to you about what is to happen soon." Castiel explained in a deep voice that did indeed intimidate Dean.

"Are you talking about Halloween or Thanksgiving? Because those are happening soon.." Dean mumbled, trying to imagine what the man would want.

Castiel smiled softly at the child's innocence. Of course that would be taken away soon but it was still nice to see it in the toddler.

"No Dean.. On November second, something bad is going to happen and no matter what, I don't want you to go into Sam's nursery no matter what you hear alright?" Castiel explained quickly and Dean instantly became suspicious.

"Why?" He asked and Castiel stared down at the four year old.

"Because-" He was cut off by a door opening and Mary walked out to finally spot her son and a strange man. Instantly her maternal senses came in full force and she briskly walked over.

"Dean what are you doing out here?" She asked as she made a show of pushing him a way and got in between her son and the man.

"Hello Mrs. Winchester." Castiel said and both Dean and Mary blinked in surprise at how Castiel knew her.

"I'm sorry but who are you?" Mary narrowed her sharp eyes at the male who tilted his head and studied them.

"I am just someone informing your son of something Mary. Goodbye." He rumbled out and turned away, leaving both Winchester's standing there.

"Dean? What did he say to you?" Mary asked her son as she guided him back inside so she could watch both him and Sam.

"Just that something on November uh... I can't remember the day but he said that no matter what I hear I can't go into Sammy's room.. Mommy what does he mean?" He asked as he looked up with wide green eyes.

Mary's blood went cold and she instantly looked out the window to see if the man was still there or in sight but he wasn't.

To be frank, she was wondering if he was either a supernatural, or just a man. She also was unsure which she was more scared of.

"I don't know Dean but I'm sure he meant nothing." Mary lied easily through her teeth. It was much easier to lie when she was faced away from Dean.

She turned back after thinking it through and felt her heart soften when she watched Dean play with baby Sammy.

Honestly, Dean is mature for his age but he seems to always become his four year old self again whenever Sam is present.

Mary sighed and went to make herself a cup of coffee. Even if it was getting later into the afternoon, she knew she'd have to at least do a little research today on deaths, signs and anything around Lawrence or Kansas for that matter.

When John returned that evening, Mary failed to tell her husband what happened with their eldest, but it remained on her mind the entire night as she put her children to bed. She spent the night staring at the wall, thinking back to her cursed childhood of hunting and shuddered. But it was all soon forgotten when John felt her shiver and pulled her in to his arms to warm her. She smiled softly and cuddled into John's embrace.

With John here, she knew she was safe.


	3. Chapter 2: November 2nd

**A/N: Hey guys THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT! Seriously I love opening my mail to see favs, reviews and follows! It warms my stone cold heart :D**

 **Specifically.. Thanks to Babyreaper (again) and scooby31415 for their reviews on the first chapter and everybody else on the prologue! 3 3 3**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys like this next chapter! It's much longer than the last two (combined) and I hope you guys get a lot out of this one. Characters are brought into the story and Cas is back with a dramatic entrance! ^-^**

 **All ya'll have a good day!**

 **3**

 **Ooh. Also don't forget to review, fav and follow to your hearts content ;)**

* * *

 **The Mark He Bore**

 **November 2nd..**

John woke early that morning, yawning as he stretched and looked down at his wife and smiled. Even with a massive bedhead and drool going down her cheek, she was still stunning in his eyes and he wouldn't trade her for anything in the world (and his children don't count since he wouldn't trade them either.)

As he got up and began to make himself breakfast, he was deep in thought and failed to hear steps on the stairs and through the living room. When a hand grabbed at his pant leg, he nearly screamed as he dropped his knife on the form that had grabbed him.

When his senses came back, he saw Dean standing there with bewildered green eyes as they stared at the knife that was laying beside his foot.

"Oh my god Dean.. Don't do that!" He hissed quietly so he didn't wake up Mary.. Who was probably up now anyway.

"S-Sorry daddy." Dean backed up, afraid and he bit his lip and John instantly calmed down as he went over to Dean and sighed.

"No.. I'm sorry buddy. I didn't mean to talk like that. Forgive me?" He smiled down at Dean who instantly brightened at him. He jumped into his arms and giggled.

"Yeah dad." He said as he was set down again and John frowned as he glanced at the clock.

"What are you doing up so early anyway?" He asked him as he turned and continued to butter his toast.

"I couldn't sleep.." John paused and grimaced.

"Another nightmare?" He questioned him, growing more worried and Dean nodded softly.

"I'm sorry buddy.. What was it about?" He asked him who went silent.

"Dean?" He repeated and turned to him as his son failed to answer him and he began to get more concerned.

"Well it's just.. I had a dream of a man in Sammy's room." He mumbled and stared at his feet. His adorable, adorable feet.

John smiled softly and pulled his son up into a big hug.

"Don't worry Dean.. You're going to protect Sammy, right?" John smiled at him and Dean looked up and paused before he got a determined look on his face.

"Yeah!" He declared and John laughed softly.

"Alright Dean but back to bed with you right now. Sammy's protector can't protect him if he's tired after all." John said to him and Dean nodded and let himself be carried up the stairs by John and back into bed. When he shut the door silently behind him, he jumped when Mary stood nearby, looking tired and confused.

"Jesus why is everyone sneaking up on me?" John whined as he kissed Mary's forehead and led them down the stairs.

"Is Dean okay?" She murmured as she finished buttering John's toast for him and handed him the plate. He crunched on it and shrugged.

"He had another nightmare... Mary I think we should take him back to that child counselor again." John suggested and Mary grunted angrily.

"They don't know what the hell they're doing!" She growled suddenly and John was taken aback from her anger.

"Shh Mary.. Just calm down okay?" He asked as he got up and massaged her shoulders and he could feel her melt into his hands and she sighed.

"I don't want Dean going back to the counselor either but.. I don't want to just sit by idly while twiddling my thumbs as our son has night horrors every night. I want to believe that we can at least do something even if it's not helping him a ton." John explained to her and let his helplessness show and she turned to him with sad eyes.

"I just don't understand.. He's so different than all the other kids I see. All of the other kids are always begging to play on the playground or go get some treat or toy but.. Dean never asks for anything. He's so serious and has some type of darkness in him." Mary finally told John what she thought and John patiently listened as he led them back to the table to sit down.

"I know Mare but.. I just don't particularly know if this is a bad thing. I mean.. He's very violent at times and it scares me but I think it's just because he's at a young age so he doesn't know that words can handle a fight just fine. I'm sure he'll grow out of all this." John murmured as he stood up and continued to get ready.

Mary sat there for a couple more moments before she decided to grab the phone book and scan through it. When she found the number, she wrote it down on a sticky note on the fridge. She wasn't going to call her now.. It was far too early and the woman would whack her with a spoon the first chance she'd get.

* * *

"Come on Dean." Mary urged to her eldest as she stopped at the door and looked back at her son as he curiously looked around the yard. He finally walked up to Mary's side and gripped her hand as she offered it. She didn't know why but she could tell Dean was nervous to be here.

After twenty seconds of knocking on the door, it opened to reveal a shorter black woman who looked at them all. At first she offered a smile to Mary but when her gaze reached Dean's, they grew somber and she let them in.

"So you're here to try to understand your son, ain't that right Mary?" She asked simply as she sat down on her chair and Dean and Mary sat down on the couch across from her.

Bothered that Missouri already knew who they were and what they were here for, Mary simply nodded and let Missouri study them.

"Can I see the mark?" She asked gently as she focused her gaze on Dean's right arm that was covered by his jacket.

Mary nodded and helped Dean out of his small jacket and held his arm out to her. She carefully and slowly took his hand and stretched his arm out as she lightly skimmed the mark with her finger. He flinched at first but Missouri quickly reassured him that she meant no harm.

"I.. I can sense an extremely dark presence when I touch this mark.." She murmured as her eyes closed and she winced slightly and reopened them. Dean stared at her, biting his lip hard and Mary gripped his other hand in reassurance.

"Mary.. I need to speak to you alone." Missouri said quickly as she let go of Dean's hand gently.

As Missouri led her into the kitchen, Mary carefully closed the door behind them and turned to Missouri.

"Missouri what did you see?" She urged her as Missouri stared out the window and sighed.

"That boy.. That mark he has isn't something for show. It's a curse." She explained and Mary felt her breath catch at the word.

"Curse?" It almost felt like venom as she spat it and Missouri nodded and turned to her.

"What kind of curse is it?" Mary peeked out the door at her son. Her cursed four year old.

"It's an extremely powerful and ancient one.. One that can't simply be broken and for the safety of the world may it never be." Missouri said as she suddenly wrote down a number on a piece of paper and ripped it off and handed it to Mary.

"Phone this man and tell him about this curse. Also tell him you can go visit him if you must." Missouri told her briskly and Mary studied the number and frowned.

"But.. I can't just go to stranger's houses." Mary exclaimed and Missouri rose an eyebrow.

"This isn't just a stranger though. He's very experienced in curses and he'll eventually find something on this curse." Missouri explained as she grabbed a cookie from a shelf and walked back out to Dean and gave him the cookie. He bit into it with enthusiasm and smiled brightly at Missouri.

Mary was suddenly bothered to be near her son, expecting him to grow two heads or something, but she had to call this man and get info on this mark.

"Okay Dean.. Let's go." She told her son and led them out but stopped at the door and told Dean to go ahead.

"So.. This curse is causing my son's nightmares and brashness?" She asked and Missouri nodded as she watched the boy stop by the road and watch people.

"I believe it is. If he wasn't cursed I'm sure he'd be a very happy boy. Be careful with that one Mary.. His anger and strength is only going to grow as he ages. There's two different forces watching him and you and your family are going to be right smack in the middle of an incoming war." Missouri explained quickly before she heard the phone go off inside and closed the door on Mary's questions.

Bothered, she went down the sidewalk to her son and let Dean catch up to her as she walked quickly with her thoughts.

* * *

As the two returned home, Mary paid the babysitter that was taking care of Sam and shut the door behind her and slid against the door, gripping her blonde hair.

"Mommy?" She jumped as she saw Dean in the doorway to the living room.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he slightly tilted his head and stared at her and Mary forced a smile on her face.

"Nothing sweetie. Do you want me to make you something?" She asked her eldest as she stood and walked over to him and carded her fingers through his blonde hair.

"Sandwich?" He asked with green eyes gleaming up at her, and she swallowed and nodded.

As she cut up the peanut butter and jelly sandwich into quarters, she tried to register that her originally suspected innocent son was cursed..

She set the sandwich in front of her son and she rubbed his head again.

"Dean I need to make an important call so take care of Sammy, okay?" She asked as she went upstairs to use the one upstairs for privacy.

As she dialed the number, she wondered who this man was. Was he some sort of professor? Scholar? Was he a researcher?

As the line picked up, she straightened her thoughts and listened to hear a gruff voice answer.

"Yeah?"

"Uh.. Hi my name is Mary Winchester and Missouri suggested you to me." Mary stumbled over her words and took in a deep breath and calmed herself.

There was silence on the other end for a moment.

"So what? What's the problem?" He asked and she blinked.

"My son Dean he's uh.. Cursed." She chuckled humorlessly as she thought of how ridiculous she must sound to a normal person.

"Cursed? Like voo-doo crap or something else?" The man was instantly interested and Mary frowned.

"Well that's the thing.. I don't really know." She began to go into detail to the man with what the curse was doing to her son.

"I don't really know what I can do for you Mary. I see your point and it must be worrying but without anything to go on other than "makes host violent" I can't do much." The male explained and cursed under his breath for a moment.

"Look he has a mark on his arm." She snapped at how little he seemed to care now. This was her son dammit and if she had to scream it to get it through his ear to the other then she would until her face was blue.

"A mark eh?" The male drawled and Mary sighed.

"Look.. If I have to come visit you then fine. Where do you live?" She asked, expecting him to maybe live twenty minutes away or something since Missouri did suggest him.

"Sioux Falls, South Dakota."

Her jaw fell open and she stuttered for a couple moments.

"Uhh.. Look I don't think I can go to South Dakota.. Could you possibly come here?" She asked but was immediately denied.

"Sorry Mary but I've got my own problems here. If you can't come up here then I'm sorry, I'd suggest a couple books to you but again, I don't know anything on the curse." The man explained and Mary sighed, defeated.

"Okay.. By the way, how rude of me for not asking sooner but what is your name?"

"Bobby Singer."

* * *

John came home that night and played with both Dean and Sam for a little but Dean got bored after while when John counted to twenty again for another round of hide and seek. Luckily, Mary was setting out dinner then and called them all into the dining room.

As they all seated and John put Sam in his booster seat, he began to tell his family how his day went.

Mary didn't really want to talk about Missouri, but Dean mentioned it anyway and John turned his questioning gaze on her. She suddenly found the chandelier was getting quite dusty..

"Mary?" He prompted and when she failed to answer him, he turned to his four year old instead.

"What did you two do there?" He asked and Dean shrugged.

"She was rubbing my arm and was saying stuff." He said casually and John knew what he was talking about, even if it was bleak. He sent Mary a look that was worried and curious and after dinner he pulled them upstairs into their bedroom to talk.

"Mary did you take Dean to the counselor without me?" He demanded and Mary looked offended for a moment before it morphed into guilt.

"No but.. I took him to a psychic." She admitted and John immediately exploded on her.

"Are you kidding me?! I don't want our son around those kind of people!" He snapped and Mary let him vent before he calmed down enough to realize she wasn't saying anything.

She finally opened her mouth when John gazed at her quizzically.

"I wouldn't have if I didn't feel like it was the right thing to do and the things she told me John.. I need to go see someone in South Dakota." She said quickly and John rose a brow.

"Who?"

She stayed silent at that and sighed. How was she supposed to explain to her close-minded husband that their eldest son was cursed and that the only person that could help them was a complete stranger except for a name and phone number.

"Look.. Mary how about we talk about this in the morning, okay?" He asked at last and Mary smiled softly and kissed him.

"Let's give the kids desert, and thirty minutes of playtime and then put them to bed." She decided and they went to go spend time with their children before it darkened outside and as John turned on the TV to watch some movie, Mary brought her two children upstairs. As she set Sam down into the crib, Dean raced up and leaned over the bars to kiss his head.

"Night Sammy." He said before John came into the room and smiled at them.

After John picked Dean up and brought him out of the room, Mary closed the door and decided to go to bed early to collect her thoughts of her day.

* * *

Crying.

It was soft but she could still hear it and she sat up and went to tell John it was his turn to deal with Sam, but she realized she was alone in bed.

Rolling her eyes, she stumbled over to the nursery, rubbing her eyes and saw John was already in there. He was quicker than usual and she couldn't complain as he whispered "shh" and she shrugged and turned away.

As she was going back to bed however, something caught her eye.

The light at the end of their hallway was flickering. And they just had the bulb replaced..

Old abandoned hunter instincts were filling her mind, but she pushed it away. She's been out of the hunter life for ten years now. Nothing would be here..

As she approached the bulb and tapped it to make it stop, she heard something downstairs and instantly she knew something was terribly wrong.

She carefully went down the stairs and saw John laying in illuminated TV light, snoring softly. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched as she raced back up the stairs like hell was on her heels.

"Sammy!" She shouted as she reached the nursery. The sight that met her instantly forced her back onto the wall and she winced.

"Oh.. Hello Mary." A deep voice spoke to her and her lips curled as her hands tightened into fists.

"You.."

"Mommy?"

Mary stopped and her eyes widened and went silent, hoping that Dean would hear nothing and go back to bed.

That wasn't the case however. Dean walked into the room and spotted the man and his mom pinned to the wall.

"Hey!" He shouted as his eyes widened. He suddenly got major de'ja vu from this all as he's seen it countless times in his dreams.

The male approached the boy who was still trying to understand what was going on, ready to murder the child when he paused.

"You.." He murmured as he suddenly snatched Dean's right hand and pulled it up so hard, Mary thought it would rip off.

Dean let out a short cry as the figure lifted him off the ground from just his arm and he moved the sleeve of his pajama's out of the way.

"Ah... The mark of Cain eh?" The man smirked and stared at it gleefully.

"Oh how wonderful! Now that I know who bears the mark, it will be that much easier to just claim you for hell now." He announced and his hand moved so quick in the darkness, neither Winchester spotted the movement hitting Dean's head and knocking the child clean out.

"You let him go now!" Mary shouted with pure anger and malice and the male finally turned to her, showing off his sparkling yellow eyes.

"Oh Mary.. You bear such special children that Hell will use for it's future. Don't worry. Lucifer will be an amazing father to little Sammy and Dean." He said casually as he went over to pick Sam up who started to wail again as he realized that the man was bad and was carrying his unconscious brother.

What none of them, not even the demon expected was a bright flash to enter the room. Mary barely had a chance to close her eyes. Even as she did however, it still burned behind her eyelids and she flinched. When she reopened them, a new man stood in the room. Her mouth fell open when she remembered the man with the trench coat a couple days ago, talking to Dean.

"Azazel, unhand the children now or face the wrath of God." The man commanded in a strong voice. The demon seemed unfazed by that at first until the slightly shorter man's eyes began to glow a strong blue and to Mary's shock, wings appeared as shadows over his firm shoulders.

Azazel narrowed his gaze and tsked.

"You angels and your stupid powers. Oh well. You can't protect them forever Castiel and when you're least expecting it, I'll be there." Azazel uselessly dropped the children and disappeared. Mary cried out as she watched the two forms of her children fall to the ground and as she was released, she jumped forward and immediately bent her form over her two children, protecting them from the new threat.

"I don't know who you are, and what you are, but I will gladly die before I hand my children over to anyone." She snarled and Castiel tilted his head slightly as his wings disappeared and his eyes faded back to normal.

"You mistaken me, Mary Winchester. I do not wish harm upon you or your sons. I want to protect the Winchester family." He explained as he crouched down to eye level and looked down at the two injured children.

"Let me heal them.. Please I just wish the best for all of you." He rumbled out as he stared into her eyes and she narrowed her own back at his.

As she read him, she slowly started to realize that maybe this strange life form (if he's even living) didn't want to hurt them. She slowly and reluctantly backed away from her children and watched as he rested two fingers on Sam's tiny temple first, then did the same with Dean. There weren't any visible injuries on either of them, but Mary could see herself that they seemed to be resting more peacefully now.

"Is John alright?" Mary asked at last when she checked her children for pulses and breathing. When they were both deemed alright, she turned her focus to Castiel who was now standing.

"Yes. I simply put him to rest as well as he was about to run in here. He is in the hallway." Castiel nodded towards the door and sure enough, when Mary crawled out to check, John was sprawled out on the floor on his belly. If her children weren't almost taken away from her, she'd be laughing so hard she would be crying.

"Mary we can't stay around here. I'm sure you know that now." Castiel spoke up and she turned to the male and nodded.

"I know the place to go." She said determinedly as she suddenly sprung into action and started to pack things quickly. Castiel watched her with curiosity lighting up in his stunning blue eyes but stayed silent as she packed two large bags for Sam, full of diapers, clothes, bottles and whatever else a child needs.

"And where do you plan to bring your family?" Castiel asked as he followed Mary into the master bedroom to pack some clothes.

"South Dakota. Sioux Falls actually. There's a man there that can help me figure out this mark this.. Mark of Cain or whatever the demon called it." Mary explained quickly as she lugged the two bags into the hallway beside Sam's stuff. As she carefully stepped over John's unconscious form, she stepped into Dean's room and finished packing for the family.

"Mary.." Castiel started and she turned to Castiel for the first time.

"What, Castiel?" She asked and he frowned.

"You're going to need to explain to John what is happening. I believe he won't willingly go with you to Sioux Falls and leave the normal house life." Castiel tried and Mary shrugged.

"Just load him into the Impala for me. We need to get out of here and moving before that demon decides round two can start now." Mary grimly stated and went to grab whatever else she needed. Castiel looked down at the fallen father and sighed, but without a word grabbed him and flew them to the Impala. He opened the door and set John in the passenger seat and tried to get him to sit normally but he kept falling forward. His eyebrow twitched slightly and Castiel ended up just awkwardly reaching over John and clicking the seat belt in.

However, when Castiel was leaned over his lap John decided now was the time to wake up and he let out a manly shriek and Castiel bolted up and his head hit John's chin and sent them both grabbing at the impacted parts.

Castiel growled lowly as he knocked John out again and slammed the door on him as he walked back inside. Mary looked up at the slightly ruffled Castiel and let a smile grace her lips for the first time that night, and she helped Castiel carry her children to the car.

"Do you mind sitting in the back with them?" Mary asked and Castiel let surprise cover his face.

"I didn't realize you wanted me to stay in the car with you." He said after he noticed Mary's confused expression and she only grew more confused.

"So how were you planning on protecting us?" She asked as he let Castiel get in and settle in between the two sleeping boys.

"From a distance I would watch but.. This also works." Castiel explained as he looked down at the two children and rested his hands on his lap.

Mary nodded and ignited the engine to the Impala and took one look back at the house, letting out a sigh and pulled out of the driveway, ready to start their new life and drive away from the old one.


	4. Chapter 3: Eight Hours Later

**The Mark He Bore:**

 **A/N: Heya guys, thanks for ALL the support! 3 so chapters are soon gonna be coming out a little bit slower (not everyday now) because I've only got one more chapter pre-written after this one. I'm starting on the next chapter after that one, but I've got work and school work . (yeah I'm taking some courses online like a nerd) so I'll try to write quickly but we'll see! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! This is sort of an uneventful chapter though and the next chapter is MUCH more interesting and longer.**

 **Have a grand day!**

 **Also.. Reviews, favs, and follows are always appreciated ;)**

 **Thanks so much to babyreaper for commenting on my latest chapter! ^-^**

Chapter 3: Eight Hours Later

When Mary called Bobby back as they reached Sioux Falls, she fell into detail and explained things to the older man. He listened and then rattled off instructions on his location and hung up. When Mary tracked down the Singer Salvage Yard, she was quite impressed. She was honestly expecting some sort of Mental Institute. She knew that John would take to the place filled with cars. She thought for a moment that John didn't actually quit his job. He'd have to call them or something. She just hoped that he didn't leave anything at his workplace.

As she got out, she gave a worried glance to John. He's been asleep for at least eight to nine hours now, and she looked back at her children. While Sam slept peacefully, Dean was awake for most of the time and he ended up using Castiel's side as some sort of rest to lean against and his feet were propped up on the door as he gazed out the window.

Castiel at first was uncomfortable by how close Dean was but eventually relaxed into it and even let Dean grab his arm and curl around it like a teddy bear.

Mary smiled back at the helpless look in Castiel's eyes, and she put up a single finger to signal to wait a little longer so she could scope out the place to make sure they wouldn't get ambushed by the time they reached Singer's porch.

She was very well ambushed when she reached the porch, but not by a demon. No, it was a man slightly taller than her holding a shot gun. She studied him for a moment and grinned a little.

"Hi Bobby." She greeted and calmed down as Bobby lowered the gun and sighed roughly.

"Mary Winchester, I presume?" He asked and Mary nodded and shook hands with him.

"Dunno exactly what I was expecting Mary, but I wasn't expecting a princess." Bobby stated sarcastically as he looked her up and down and she shrugged. It wasn't her fault that she had long blonde hair and looked softer than most hunters.

"So where's the rest of the family?" Bobby asked and she nodded back to the Impala and sighed.

"Look.. I need to explain what happened to my family.. They don't understand and John is especially not going to be happy." She cautioned to him and he nodded in understanding.

"It's not everyday they're forced into the hunting life." He stated and Mary froze and stared at him with wide eyes. He gave her an unimpressed look.

"Yeah I'm a hunter sweetheart, and from that expression I can see you were once too." Bobby grunted and turned away to walk back inside.

"Once you get it all sorted out, come inside. I have beer and some juice for the kiddies."

Mary nodded slowly and walked back to the Impala while rubbing her head. She was relieved to see John was up and moving again, although he didn't look happy as he was yelling at poor Castiel for his wife and to get his hands off of his children. Castiel hadn't moved once from his spot in between the two, and Sam was crying loudly.

"John stop!" She snapped as she walked over and he immediately whirled around and looked relieved for a moment before it morphed into anger and confusion.

"Where the hell are we, Mary? What happened?"

She paused and thought things through quickly before she marched up to him and pointed a sharp finger under his chin.

"You're going to need to listen to every detail that I give you, and believe. Understand me? The last thing I need right now is your opinions on what is real and what isn't." She ordered and John frowned but listened to her and nodded reluctantly as he looked back at his sons.

"Do you.. Trust him with our children?" He asked and Mary looked at Castiel and nodded.

"Alright.. Come." She led them away. She trusted Castiel with her children since he's had plenty of opportunities to wipe them all out or kidnap her children. Hell, he sat in the back of the Impala with them for eight hours!

As they went and sat on an old Mustang, she sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"Okay John... This is a doozy of a story but you have to stick with me. I'll allow questions but nothing like "are you crazy" and stuff like that. Okay?" She glanced at her husband but was relieved to see the familiar hazel staring back at her. He nodded comfortingly and sat beside her.

"Alright well.. To put it simply, all those myths and tales that you hear about monsters, demons and whatever else is real. Bloody Mary, the Hookman, hell even probably Lucifer is out there somewhere." She explained and John opened his mouth to object, but thought better of it and clamped it shut again.

"My family.. They hunted these monsters and forced me to as well. I didn't want to but.. In the end I got out of it. Only because of you. But.. The night that we decided to run off together, my mother and father were killed by a Yellow Eyed Demon. You were as well." Her mouth was beginning to go dry as she thought of the time again and John quickly stopped her.

"Wait.. I was killed?!" He exclaimed and she nodded sadly and bit her lip.

"Yeah.. You got killed in the crossfire when the demon tried to reach me. He quickly changed tactics however and used you as some sort of bargaining chip to get me to agree to deal. He told me in ten years he'd come to see my child and I was to let him in and not get in the way.." She sighed and John did some mental math and came to a conclusion that ten years ago was exactly when all this happened.

"I.. I didn't know which son he meant but last night he came into the room and did something to Sammy.. Then things got worse when Dean came in." Her breathing broke slightly and John slowly began to rub her back. It helped a lot and she carried on.

"He planned to steal both of our children.. I don't know why but apparently they're both very important to his realm." Her voice kept growing quieter and quieter but John listened to every word carefully. He realized Mary was done her story when she leaned against him now and he wrapped his arms around her.

"What about that guy in the Impala?" John asked as he glanced back the way they came but the Impala was out of sight.

"His name is Castiel.. On the car ride here he told me he's an Angel of the Lord. I saw his wings and his power so I believe him." She murmured and picked at some of the rust on the car.

"Also.. We're in South Dakota. When I was talking to Missouri about Dean, she suggested a Bobby Singer to me. He might know how to help Dean." She explained and John stared quizzically at her now.

"What's wrong with him? I mean.. Nightmares sure but that's hardly the reason to travel across the Kansas state to get to South Dakota." John tried to understand his wife's motives and she shrugged helplessly. John began to pace back and forth as he tried to comprehend what Mary was explaining to him. Hell, he wasn't even religious but apparently angels and demons are real now!

"Dean.. When we went to the Psychic she told us a couple of things.. One that the mark on his arm is actually a curse. And two, it was giving Dean darkness." She explained and John's eyes widened and he stood and began to pace faster, worried for his boys.

"John.." Mary began but John was barely listening.

She sighed and let him pace before he stopped and turned to her.

"Okay so.. Let's go see Bobby then and get the verdict on Dean." He decided and led them back to the Impala. They were both relieved and quite surprised to see Castiel playing with Dean while he held Sammy in his arms and cradled him slightly.

"Castiel." Mary addressed the angel who turned and nodded at them.

"Uh.. So you're an angel?" John asked uncertainly as he walked up. Castiel squinted at him for a moment as he nodded.

"Well I'm John Winchester and uh.. Thanks for saving my family." He said to the male and shook hands with Castiel's free arm.

"Hello John. I am Castiel." Castiel introduced himself as he handed Sam to Mary and looked back at Dean who was studying a car.

"We should go see Bobby. I'm hungry." Mary said to them all and John went over and grabbed Dean's hand to lead him inside. When they all went in, the scent of the room immediately reminded Mary of a library. She wasn't surprised either. Books stacked the walls in un-neat, and random order. There would be no Dewey decimal system here and Mary suspected that Bobby had his own system going on anyway so she wouldn't comment on it. She just worried about John and his big mouth.

"Bobby?" She called and a voice responded from the kitchen on the other side of the living room. They all went further into the room to see Bobby just chilling by the stove, cooking some soup and a cold beer was beside him.

"You can grab anything from the fridge." He nodded at the small fridge in the corner and Mary grabbed John a beer, and a jug of water for herself and her children.

"Cas do you drink anything?" John asked and Castiel seemed surprised by the nickname for a moment but then shook his head.

"I am a celestial entity. I do not require nutrition." He supplied and John grunted and took a long swig of his beer once he popped the cap off.

"So, when do you want me to look at Dean?" Bobby asked casually as he served soup into four bowls, one much smaller for Sam and Mary looked and smiled at him.

"Well.. Whenever's best for you." She decided and began to eat the soup hungrily, not caring that it burned her tongue. John quickly blew on his soup but also sipped hungrily. Dean was taking his time, stirring his soup and blowing on his spoon until there was no contents left in it.

"Maybe after ya'll finish. I'll be over here." Bobby said over his shoulder as he went into the living room and began to read.

When Mary finished, she cleaned up her plate and continued to feed Sam and when he and Dean were done, she took their bowls and cleaned them in the sink.

She guided Dean over to Bobby who put down the book and stared expectantly at the toddler, who squirmed under his gaze. He softened it immediately when he realized he was intimidating the boy and smiled.

"Don't worry boy, I ain't gonna hurt cha." He said carefully and Dean shyly looked up at Mary who nodded slowly to him. He pulled up his right sleeve and showed Bobby the mark that rested on his skin.

Obviously, it wasn't what Bobby was expecting as his jaw fell open for a moment. Dean had his gaze turned away and his fist clenched into his sleeve. John and Castiel watched from the doorway. The father was also carrying his youngest.

"Well.. I'd say that's damn well a curse." Bobby snorted as he continued to study the mark.

"I'd almost say that's Hebrew.. Like a letter in their weird-ass alphabet or something but I've never seen anything like it." Bobby mumbled as he immediately began to pull out books.

"And yer sure you've never seen anything like this, angel boy?" Bobby looked at Castiel who frowned.

"All I know of it is the name and the very beginning of it." He said and Mary sent him a disbelieving look.

"You couldn't have told me that before?" But Cas mostly ignored her except for an apologetic look as he stepped forward.

"The curse is the Mark of Cain. Hence the name, it's origin comes from God giving it to Lucifer. The mark grew in power as it got older however and tainted Lucifer and ended in him falling after betraying my father. It was given to one of Lucifer's strongest officers after." Castiel explained as his eyes went distant as he looked back at the memory.

"So.. This mark was originally on Lucifer huh?" Bobby grumbled out as he pulled out more books and sighed roughly.

"Well.. I don't know how long it's going to take to find something on the falling of Lucifer, but until then it's best if you find something to do." Bobby nodded at them and they all exchanged looks but agreed to leave the older man alone to his studies.


	5. Chapter 4: Two Years Later

**The Mark He Bore**

 **A/N: Hey guys, so this chapter is two years after they came to Bobby's house. Plus, this is the last chapter I've pre-written so next chapter will take a little longer to come out! I'll try to write fast for it though. I already have around 500 words in it!**

 **Also, reviews, favs and follows are always appreciated ;)**

 **Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

 **Chapter 4: Two Years Later..**

A gunshot went off.

Then a second followed.

Each can fell from the fence as the shots rang out and when all ten were on the ground, did the shots stop.

The one holding the gun smiled excitedly but immediately put the gun down as he saw his father's look.

He scurried back over to the cans to see where he hit them and John watched with a sigh on his lips.

It's been two years living in Sioux Falls with Bobby, and there's been no progress made. Of course they're still trying, hell tomorrow John is leaving to go to the Stanford Archives to see if there's anything in there on the damn curse, but otherwise it's been quiet.

Although with all the peace, Dean has been able to start kindergarten but of course there's just been problems. Already he's gotten sent home four times and it's only November!

And the nightmares have increased and a dreadful sense of paranoia and surprising violence comes along with it.

Not to mention it was like Dean's been shooting for fifty years already, even though he's only six.

"Good job son." John congratulated him as he walked over and saw Dean studying the cans.

"Thanks." He brightened at the praise and John smiled softly.

"How about we go out into town and get some ice cream?" John asked him as they started to walk back to the house and Dean nodded, calming down now that he didn't have a gun in his hands anymore.

As they drove into town, John watched Dean from the rear-view mirror. Over the years, Dean's dreams have gotten fatally worse. He'd wake up screaming in the night and no matter how much comfort he received, he wouldn't get to sleep so nobody would sleep. So Bobby would always try to bore him with some Latin lessons or something but Dean actually took great interest in it every time and would learn off of the exhausted Bobby.

John and Dean went into the Ice Cream Parlor and while he ordered Vanilla, Dean got chocolate. While John was paying, he didn't notice Dean suddenly freezing up and staring at the cashier with wide eyes as he backed up towards the door. John finally realized Dean was no longer beside him and he looked back quizzically at his son.

"Dean?" He asked as he offered the ice cream to him, but one look at John sent Dean running out of the place screaming for help.

John stood there for a moment, bewildered and stunned at his son's reaction before he gave chase and saw his son racing down the sidewalk. He chased after before an arm grabbed him and he followed the hand on his arm to a police officer. Great.

"That's my son I swear! He's just scared that's all." He begged the officer who looked unconvinced.

"ID." He stated simply and John stared with an enraged expression suddenly.

"Seriously? you expect me to carry my son's birth certificate with me?" He snapped and the officer sighed.

"No but I expect something maybe your driver's license and something of his." He explained in a tone full of boredom and John reached into his wallet and quickly pulled out his license and let him scan it.

"Please I have to find my son." John pleaded and the officer grumbled something under his breath and let him go without giving him any of Dean's ID and let John tear down the sidewalk after his eldest.

When he finally found Dean, he was being surrounded by worried mother's and Dean looked extremely uncomfortable as they comforted him. John grinned slightly as he walked over.

"Excuse me, but that's my son." He said and wasn't expecting the women to turn on him with fiery vengeance.

"What did you do to the poor boy?! He looks like he's been startled half to death!" One woman exclaimed as she hugged Dean tightly. The green eyed boy stared at his father, silently begging him to save him.

"He just has a very active imagination. Here, I want to give him his ice cream before it melts." He told them and handed Dean his ice cream and managed to wrestle out of the women's bearing grips.

"Good day." He said to them and led Dean away. Once they were away, he turned on Dean with a concerned expression.

'Dean what happened in there? You looked like you just saw a ghost." He said to him and Dean shrugged sadly.

"I.. When I looked at the guy I just.. I dunno I saw yellow eyes." The answer took John aback and he immediately pulled Dean to the car and drove them back to Bobby's and kept him inside under a watchful gaze as he told the other adults what happened. Mary was comforting Dean as John explained the story.

"Azazel must be closing in then.." Castiel murmured as he felt the city for any demonic activity.

"Should we get moving then?" Mary asked in concern and Bobby hummed.

"Well.. This house has some wardings against demon's but I'm not sure about a demon like Yellow Eyes." Bobby grumbled as he got up and went to grab some paint from the basement to draw some more sigils and traps.

"There is a demon in the city but I'm unsure if it's Azazel." Castiel reported as he felt the demon and narrowed his gaze as he suddenly disappeared with the sound of flapping wings.

John and Mary exchanged worried looks but said nothing as Mary went to go feed Sam and John distracted Dean by teaching him more words in the books he brought home from Kinder garden.

When night fell and Castiel failed to return Mary and John were getting worried about the angel. So with their concern, they became much more short tempered. Dean had walked down the hall that night, wanting to tell his parents that he had a nightmare, and he wanted comfort when he heard shouting coming from the bedroom.

"He has to learn self defense Mary! What if the demon finds him and he can't fight back?" John snapped and Mary huffed loudly.

"I'm not letting my son get into the hunting life and if that means that I have to kill every damn monster and demon on the planet then I will!" She hissed back and Dean felt his lip wobble. They were fighting about him..

He wanted to run in and into their arms and beg them not to fight, but his body didn't respond to that. Instead he slid against the wall to the floor and let himself sit there as Mary and John went back and forth in the argument.

Suddenly Dean saw a figure climb up the stairs and he realized it was Bobby. He stayed silent and let the seasoned hunter walk over to him and sit down beside him.

"You okay son?" He asked the boy as he noticed the lost look in his green opals. Dean looked up at him and shrugged blankly.

'Another nightmare?" Bobby guessed and Dean simply nodded and Bobby sighed.

"Look.. I'm sorry this is happening to you kid but it could be a lot worse you know. Of course it's not great being hunted but.. At least all you have right now is night terrors and paranoia. Would you rather take that than growing another head?" He attempted a joke and internally cheered when he saw Dean laugh slightly.

He helped the boy up and brought him back to his room and tucked him in. As Dean snuggled into his comfort, Bobby began to backtrack to the door when Dean stopped him.

"Why are you helping us Bobby? You could be so much safer without us." Dean spoke out to him and the hunter paused.

"Honestly? I wanna find out what I can about this curse so I can help yah. I don't really care about safety anyway. Safety's for losers." He grinned at Dean who grinned back before Bobby shut off the light. From the doorway he watched Dean settle before he closed the door behind him. When he turned around he saw John carrying a pillow and blanket down the stairs. Bobby held in a laugh at how bed ragged he looked and he followed him to see him setting up the couch as his new bed for the night.

"The fight get that bad?" Bobby asked and John whirled around to him and looked guilty.

"You hear us?"

"Nah. Found yer boy sitting outside listening to you guys." Bobby flat out told him and John's eyes widened and went to go back upstairs but Bobby intervened.

"I already put him to bed. Just go apologize to everybody in the morning." Bobby told him quickly and John sighed roughly.

"Alright.. I guess I can start with you right now though. I'm sorry Bobby. None of this is going the way I wanted it to. I just want my children to be safe.." He murmured but Bobby patted his shoulder and moved past.

"I'm going to be reading through the night so if you want my night shade mask, go for it." Bobby said as he plopped down in his chair and opened a book on curses and began to read.

* * *

It was early in the morning when John waved his family goodbye, got into the impala, and drove out of there with every intent to find the cure to his son's curse.

Ever since Sam had started walking, he quickly morphed it into running and now he wouldn't stop. On his pudgy little legs, he raced around the Singer Salvage Yard with Dean watching in half interest as he tried to understand the Latin Bobby had given him jokingly, since he didn't expect the boy to translate the book.

Little did Bobby know, Dean never gives up so he was about a paragraph in when Sam suddenly screamed.

Dropping the book on the ground, Dean raced through the maze of cars until he stopped dead at the scene he just ran straight into.

Castiel was finally back, but bloody and beaten and under a man's foot. Sam was also in the grasp of the man's, and Dean had to look up to see the man's face.

"Oh hello Deano! This all gets better and better." The man smirked widely and Dean immediately backed up, narrowing his eyes.

"Sam you okay?" Dean directed his attention momentarily to his younger brother, who tried to calm down.

Dean looked back at the man and saw his eyes flicker black, which gave him some comfort. At least it wasn't yellow eyes.

"Heya Dean."

Spoke too soon.

Dean whirled around to see Azazel standing there in a lanky, tall vessel.

"Let them go." Dean demanded but it was coming from a six-year old and Azazel let out a hearty laugh.

"Oh Dean. You can't do anything to stop me." Azazel leaned down to pick Dean up, when a voice rang out from behind.

"He can't. But I can. Drop boy!"

Dean recognized Bobby's voice and immediately fell to his knees and covered his face as a gunshot rang out and Azazel's shoulder jerked from it.

"You have got to be kidding me." Azazel growled as he turned around and went to go backhand the older hunter when Mary ran out with a book in her hand, and while she was running, she was shouting out an exorcism.

The demon holding his hostages heard the exorcism and immediately let go of Castiel and Sam and began to jerk madly as it tried to hold the possession inside of it. Now that Cas was free however, he took the chance to rise up and smite the demon with his remaining power. Azazel heard the scream and saw the light go out from the vessel behind him, and knew he was at a lost this time, again.

"You can't keep those boys guarded forever. Trust me." He snarled before he warped out and left the family to recover.

"Dean? Sam?" Mary gasped as she raced over to her children and took a crying Sam into her arms first and checked him over, relieved to see he just got a small bump on his head that could easily be treated with ice.

When she checked Dean, she was instantly worried by the fact that his face was down.

"Dean, dear?" She asked quietly but Dean didn't respond at first until he lifted his head and an unmatched fire burned in his eyes. Mary was taken aback by the anger. That was far too much rage for a six year old and she listened to the voice in her head that insisted it was the curse.

"Dean calm down honey.. The demon didn't hurt anyone.." She guiltily turned her gaze away from Cas but Dean already saw him and stomped his foot.

"I hate this stupid demon! I can't hang out with anybody because the demon is always there! I can't do anything because of the stupid threat!" He shouted in the beginning of a toddler tantrum but Mary was already guiding them all inside. When they got back into the cool house however, Dean just raced upstairs and locked the door to his room on Sammy who wanted to come in as well.

Sammy was persistent however and kept knocking on the door for ten minutes before Dean finally opened the door, but Sam was scared by the angry look that remained in Dean's eyes.

"Leave me alone Sam!" He shouted before he slammed the door right on Sam's face, and the toddler began to tear up and he raced downstairs and straight into Mary's arms, sobbing loudly. She sighed and held her youngest and rubbed his back as she stared at the stairs, silently begging Dean to come down the stairs and mend the bridge he just broke with his brother.

He never did.

* * *

With a few hours under his belt, John was driving down the highway, listening to the tapes he had finally made so he didn't have to listen to crappy radio stations.

Tapping his hands against the wheel, he sighed in relaxation. This was probably the most vacation he's ever going to get. He didn't want to leave his family, especially with Dean getting worse but Castiel could protect his family. He felt glad that he could at least go to Stanford to read up on their books and see if there's anything that he could find out about this damn curse.

He just wants his boy to have a normal, happy childhood with no monsters. He wanted that for both of his boys. He wanted Dean and Sam to grow up in a good neighborhood and go straight to college and achieve things. Make people know the Winchester name.

It disturbed him that people already knew the Winchester name however.. And not the good kind of people that he wanted knowing about them.

He always hated that his mind could turn to dark thoughts, and they'd keep getting deeper and deeper until he had nothing else to go on, then he'd start again. Hell, he was just getting into depth when he spotted red and blue flashing lights and he cursed vividly as he glanced at his speed.

He was going quite over the limit, and he hadn't even realized it. Unfortunately, a bored police officer had and now he knew that the officer would do the full check-out and everything to make his day go quicker.

As he pulled over and quickly went into the glove compartment, he found the necessary papers and checked them over quickly before he rolled down his window and watched the police officer leisurely stride up to the window, obviously enjoying every moment of being in control. John curled his lip at the man who probably had an extremely rough wife at home.

"Papers sir." He held out his hand expectantly and John handed them to him and looked up at the male as he scanned them.

"So you realize you were going quite over the speed limit there Mr. Winchester."

"I understand that sir and I'm sorry but I-" He began to babble to him to maybe avoid a ticket when he stopped and noticed something different. The man looked down at him and smirked. When John saw his eyes, he immediately unbuckled himself and tried to move back in his seat but there wasn't much space to move to as the suddenly black eyed man reached through the window and grabbed his collar.

"Man I've been itching to get my hands on a Winchester for years now!" He exclaimed as he let go momentarily to open the door and drag John out.

"Let go you bastard." John grunted as he hit the ground and barely managed to block a punch with his arms that was coming for his face. His leg shot out and he knocked the demon over and he pulled himself back to the Impala when he felt the demon grab his leg and begin to pull him back.

Just before he was out of reach, his eye caught sight of something under the front seat and his eyes widened at the fact that there was actually a gun under the seat. He didn't question it at the moment however as he grabbed the gun and quickly shot the demon in the head.

It reared back in pain for a moment and stopped before it growled in agitation.

"Stop playing around John."

It was the last thing he heard before a well aimed punch hit his head and made everything go spinning and black.


	6. Chapter 5: Three Days Later

**The Mark He Bore:**

 **Chapter 5: Three Days Later**

Everything was going horribly wrong and Mary didn't know what to do except keep her stress to herself and reassure her sons.

But with each day passing and going without hearing a peep from John, she began to melt down more and more.

Dean seemed to realize this too, and the curse was beginning to feed off of his own worry and dark emotions.

Mary had woken on the third night without John, with Dean standing at the end of her bed in a silhouette against the window behind him, and nearly gave her a heart attack.

"Dean? sweetie are you okay?" She sat up and flicked on the lamp. She was about to reach over to nudge Dean but stopped when she saw his eyes.

They were stormy and green, dark and angry, violent and murderous. She's never seen so much anger in a human. Let alone a child.

She backed up slightly on her bed as her back touched the headboard and she stared at her son, wanting somehow to calm him down.

"Dean I.." She began but gave up when Dean's gaze suddenly snapped to her. She did the only thing that she could think of when she used to rock Dean to sleep as a baby.

She began to sing.

It was quiet and nervously at first, unsure if Dean would break his statue pose, or slowly diminish his anger. She prayed for the latter as she sang "Hey Jude."

She hasn't heard the song in a while, but she has every word memorized, burned into her mind and ingrained into her heart and soul. Even if she was asleep she would remember the words that always came to her as instinct to calm her son.

As she reached the ending of the first chorus, she noticed that Dean's shoulders began to slump a bit, and he suddenly staggered and all at once he fell like a crumbling wall to the ground. In a heap and loud.

"Dean!" She shrieked as she bolted out of bed and grasped her son in her arms as she checked him over for blood, bumps, or scratches.

When she found none, she internally sighed in relief but that didn't mean everything was alright. Why did her son collapse in the first place?

"Mary? The holy hell is going on in here?" The ceiling light flickered on and Mary looked up to see Bobby at the door with a shotgun in his hands.

"Oh Bobby.. I don't know anymore." She bit her lip as her voice cracked, even though she was singing so beautifully and calmly a couple of minutes ago.

Bobby paused and looked at Dean's form and nodded.

"Well.. Let's get him back to bed. I'll watch over him for the night and make sure he doesn't fly out the window or something." He grunted and set the gun in the corner of the room before he took Dean into his own arms and carried him down the hallway. Mary watched him walk away and turn into Dean's room before she broke down.

John was missing, Dean was turning darker, Sammy was obviously missing his absent father, and all she could do was cry.

"How pitiful." She whispered as she stood up and walked down the stairs to the kitchen to find Castiel standing beside the table, obviously lost in thought.

"Any sign of him?" She asked as she poured some water from the tap into her glass and Castiel looked over and shook his head.

"No. The trail leads up to the Impala somewhere in Kansas, then John is just gone." Castiel explained as he rubbed his temple and sighed.

She looked him up and down and finally realized how stressed he looked.

"It's fine Cas.. We'll find him." She tried to reassure the angel, but Castiel suddenly turned his blue eyes on her and she was surprised at the self-loathing look in them.

"That's not good enough Mary. We must find John or else he can be used for many things." He snapped quickly before he with drawled slightly. Mary was quick to spot his mistake however.

"What things?" She demanded as she put her glass in the sink and whirled on the angel who suddenly looked extremely shy.

"Cas please.. I just want to find my husband." Mary turned to begging quickly and was satisfied when Castiel caved.

"Mary.. John isn't normal either. I don't think anybody in this family can be considered normal anyway." Castiel sighed as he led them to the living room to sit down and talk.

"What do you mean? What is wrong with John?" Her eyes flashed concern but Castiel shook his head.

"There's nothing typically wrong with John, it's just his bloodline that makes him so famous. He's a direct link from his ancestor, Cain." Castiel explained and Mary's eyes widened.

"Wait that name.." She gasped and Castiel nodded slowly.

"The Mark of Cain is on your son, but John is the one with the strongest link. It would've been more effective if John was given the curse, but instead it was given to Dean." Castiel said as he tracked down a bible in Bobby's shelf and began to skim through it.

"Why does being related to Cain make Dean and John so important though?" Mary asked as fear gripped at her for her husband and eldest son.

"All of Cain's bloodline also share a special link to Heaven, and it's an important key to the apocalypse." Castiel explained as he fell upon the book of revelations and showed it to Mary. She looked down and frowned.

"The apocalypse as in.. Sickness, death, people fighting, and the world reseting?" She asked as she looked up from the sacred book at the angel of the lord who nodded grimly.

"John and Dean are key factors to starting the apocalypse. It's a long process that could take years, but the angels are willing to wait." He rumbled out in his deep tone and Mary rose an eyebrow.

"And.. I'm assuming that we don't want that. Okay. So how do we stop John and Dean from jump starting the end?" She asked as she closed the book and gave her full attention to Castiel.

"We make sure they don't die for starters and stay out of the grasp of angels." He explained and Mary nodded and frowned.

"How do we do that?" She questioned him and an idea popped into Castiel's mind and without saying anything, he walked upstairs with Mary in tow. He went straight to Dean's room and awoke the boy. He snapped awake and stared up at them with wide eyes.

"This will hurt a little." Castiel quickly warned him before he pressed his hand down on Dean's chest who immediately hissed and tried to move away.

"What are you doing to him?" She demanded and Castiel moved away and now Dean had moved past the pain and glared up at Cas. He turned to Mary now and raised his hand, but it was lower so he wasn't exactly.. touching her chest. He didn't want a murderous John after him when he was just trying to save him and his family. Instead, he settled his hand more below her chest and directly onto her ribs.

"I'm inscribing Enochian onto your ribs so no matter what, you cannot be found by angels. That includes me unfortunately, but that means you won't be found and tortured or killed." He explained as she gritted her teeth against the sharp jolts but when it was done, she felt.. protected in some way. She wasn't sure.

"Dean are you alright?" She asked as Cas went to go track down Bobby and probably Sammy as well.

"No.." He mumbled as he sunk back down into his bed and Mary sat down beside him and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Don't worry Dean.. We'll find John." She swore to him an Dean looked up and smiled slightly before he nodded silently and curled back up into his blankets and comfort.

Mary watched him for a couple more moments before she kissed his forehead and felt relieved when he leaned into her a little but kept his eyes remained as closed.

As she stood, she smiled softly and left the room, slowly closing the door behind her.

"So you believe this angel crap?" Bobby immediately asked her as she closed the door and she jumped and whirled around to see a sleep deprived hunter standing there. It wasn't really a rare sight.

"I'll believe anything at this point Bobby, as long as it gets my husband back." She said sternly and Bobby studied her for a moment before his gaze softened.

"I'm sorry this is happening to you Mary. You were extremely lucky though." He patted her shoulder as he moved past and she watched him for a moment.

"Luck? How the hell was I lucky?" She growled and Bobby turned and his mood went from comforting to dark in seconds as his eyes flashed a dark anger for a moment.

"You got out of the hunting life Mary. It may not have been permanent but it was sure damn well better than what any of us got. You seem to forget that you also have a family and a good one at that. Learn to appreciate what ya got because it ain't always gonna be around." He spat and without another word, went downstairs and left a stunned Mary standing there, feeling helpless and guilty.

* * *

John awoke and he gritted his teeth as pain crashed down on him like a boulder

"Hot holy fucking damn." He hissed and surprise surprise, he was restrained and just hanging there. His wrists and shoulders were definitely going to be feeling it soon as they were the only things holding him in his standing position as his wrists were chained above him to a hook hanging from the ceiling.

He swallowed and winced at how dry his throat was and he looked at his surroundings as his eyes desperately adjusted to the dark tones of the room.

As he scanned the walls, he noticed sigils, wardings and whatever weird substances lined the walls and were painted all over. He didn't know of any of the markings so he guessed they were ancient and for dangerous beings.

"Ah, so good of you to wake up Winchester. I was worried I was going to have to start without you." A deep voice came and John found himself looking into yellow eyes.

"Who are you?" John rasped out and grimaced as the male walked close enough for John to make out a very tall figure with an obvious ominous aura about him.

"Not important on who I am John. I'd rather know more about you." John caught the dark glint of a knife and he fought back a gulp.

"Hah what a fancy way to ask but I prefer dinner and wine." He kept up his cocky attitude but paused when he felt the tip of the knife against his throat.

"Don't toy with me Johnny boy. Now you're going to answer my questions." The threat wasn't needed to be spoken. The knife did the speaking for itself as it was held threateningly towards his eye now.

"Your eldest son, Dean. He bears a curse, right?" John closed his mouth immediately, not wanting to speak a word about his son to this man. The demon didn't seem to have that much patience however and slowly cut his cheek and John winced.

"You better start answering John." The man growled and John glared back.

"Yeah he's got a curse. What of it?" He spat and the man smirked.

"What symptoms has he had?" He asked casually as he twirled the knife in his hands.

"You're treating this like a sickness."

"And maybe it should be. That boy isn't right John and it's just going to get worse when he grows. Because as he grows, so shall the mark's hunger." He explained and John frowned, knowing that the male already knew more about the curse than he did and he could possibly learn.

"Why was he given the mark?" He asked as if he didn't have a fucking knife pointed towards him.

"Personally, ask somebody else about it. I wasn't the one that bestowed it." He shrugged and loomed over John again.

"Symptoms. Now." He said as he ran the knife along his arm, making a long, but shallow cut and John bit his lip.

"Just.. Nightmares and illusions." John gritted out and the demon rose an eyebrow.

"Hm.. I'm suspecting by his teen years then that he's going to be murdering people."

Shivers went down John's spine and he struggled against the restraints even though it was useless.

"He won't be murdering people I swear! He's innocent!" He shouted but the yellow eyed man gave him an unimpressed look.

"Seriously? Do you seriously believe that?" He asked him as he stepped away and pulled out a book from his thick coat. It was a nasty looking book that was in shambles and shreds but could still very well be considered a book.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"Hell. Yes. It's an extremely old book for witches to perform powerful spells. Kind of helpful actually." The demon rambled as he opened the book and scanned through it.

John silently cursed as he tried to plan a way out of here, but he was eliminating all of his options since he had no access to his weapons hidden on himself. Hell, he didn't even know if his weapons were still on his body.

"So.. What does the Mark crave then?" John asked as he continued to survey the room. The demon looked up at him and tilted his head.

"Crave?"

"You said the mark will get hungrier as Dean grows so.. What does that mean?" John growled at him and the demon snapped the book shut and turned to him and smirked.

"So you actually listen to me, Johnny-boy? I'm pleasantly surprised." He strolled back to him and went way too far into John's space, but the younger man refused to break eye contact.

"Murder. Blood. Screams. Whatever floats the curse's boat." The demon shrugged as he backed away again as he was disappointed that he didn't intimidate the human.

"How do I stop it?" John narrowed his gaze and the demon let out a hearty laugh.

"You think I'm gonna help you to stop this process? John it's a time to learn!" The demon danced a little as if it was enjoying every second of his day.

"Look you sick little fuck, I'm not letting you anywhere near my family. You'll have to get through me first." He snarled, trying to be intimidating even though his hands were restrained above him.

"Aw John.. But you're all tied up at the moment. How in the world are you supposed to stop me?" The demon pointed at his wrists and John lowered his head slightly to look more menacing.

"Might not be today. Hell, might not be in twenty years but trust me I'll be there and be the one to kill you." John glared at him and the demon paused for a moment, before it let out a chilling laugh.

"Yeah right. Like I'm letting you leave this warehouse anyway." The male shrugged and tucked the huge book under his arm again and winked at John.

"See ya."He simply said and walked out, leaving John to his thoughts and fears. After all, a man left to his own thoughts isn't really safe, is he?

"Mary.. Cas.. Anybody please just.. Come for me soon." He quietly pleaded to the empty air and got more concerned and panicked when nobody responded.

* * *

Castiel scurried the world, thinking of all the places that a stupid demon could hide one of the most important people in the world right now.

He still hoped it was a stupid demon that had taken him, but it seems that John must be held captive in a place that angel's can't access.

"Castiel." The male suddenly turned and went defensive when one of his brother's appeared behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Cas demanded and the angel rose an eyebrow.

"Checking up on you. You're keeping tabs on the Winchester's, correct?" He asked and Cas slowly nodded but knew he had to say something or Heaven would get suspicious.

"It's not going smoothly.. One of them has the Mark of Cain." He explained and the angel almost did a double take.

"That.." The angel spluttered and Cas nodded calmly.

"Also, the father is missing." Cas continued and the angel glared heatedly at him. The black haired vessel decided to ignore this.

"Is anything you're doing going okay?" The angel demanded sternly and Castiel racked through his mind.

"Not really.. The family is a mess and I'm trying to fix them but the demon Azazel is after them." He grunted and put his hands into his pockets carelessly and the angel studied him.

"I'll ask the garrison's to send out hunting parties for the father. It's possible the demon Azazel had taken John Winchester but we'll still track down any demon and question them thoroughly." The angel said and without another word, disappeared into the air. Castiel remained there for a couple moments longer before he too disappeared, desperately looking for John now. He had to be the one to find John, and not Heaven.


	7. Chapter 7: A Year Later

A/N: Alright... Now I know you guys hate it when authors say things like "oh I was busy" and stuff and yeah I ain't gonna use that excuse. Personally.. I kinda forgot about this story. Whoops? Guys I'm so sorry honestly. I COULD use the excuse that my friend actually spilled water on my computer but.. eh it still kind of works. I just can't use some certain keys lel.

Anyway, thank you so much for all the reviews, follows, and favs. I'm unsure of which reviews I have replied to, and which ones I haven't so I'm so sorry if yours gets unreplied to. I'll make it my mission to respond to everyone's after this chapter though! Much luv everyone!

* * *

The Mark He Bore

Hope has finally depleted for finding John, and things were starting to go downhill fast at the Singer Salvage yard.

Bobby was having an alright day. It wasn't good because he can't call any day a day "good" unless his wife is back in his arms, but the day was still calm and had no supernatural appearances in it. Although things changed drastically and he hadn't realized it until he actually heard a gunshot go off, but one glance at his desk told him everything. His gun was missing, and there would be only one person in the entire household to be stupid enough to do that.

Lumbering outside, he spotted the culprit holding his colt and he growled and raced over and quickly snatched the gun away.

"What the hell are you doing Dean?!" Bobby shouted at the six year old who glared back up at him.

Dean wasn't having an "alright" day. Hell, Bobby doesn't think he's had a good day since that father of his went missing.

"I was shooting at the damn demon birds." He growled and tried to reach for the gun again but Bobby kept it out of his reach.

"Demon birds? Dean have ya been at my drinks?" He rose an eyebrow at the stubborn boy who huffed and gave up and pouted. He had his mother's face alright.

"No. The birds have black eyes." He growled out and Bobby barked a laugh.

"Trust me boy. If a demon wanted to possess something, it wouldn't be a damn robin." He chuckled at the boy who flushed slightly and shrugged and stormed away, obviously still annoyed. Bobby checked to see how many shots had been taken before he got here and he sighed roughly. The bullets that were used were silver bullets since werewolf's would be out soon and it wasn't cheap to melt silver down.

"Bobby? Is everything okay?" A quiet voice came from the porch and the hunter whirled around to see Mary standing there, looking confused and slightly frail.

Bobby wouldn't lie, he was scared for Mary. Out of everything that's happened, it's impacted her the hardest, and so the only way for her to deal was to torture her body. She began to eat less and less until she began to look like a skeleton. Bobby knew he needed to jump in then but every time he fed her, she suspiciously would trail off to the bathroom and not come out for a couple of minutes. Bobby had a sneaking suspicion on what she did but Bobby didn't know what to say.

He sighed gruffly and walked over to her. She wouldn't take well to this news.

"Dean stole one of my gun's and was shooting at birds." He grumbled out and her eyes widened.

"Why? They aren't harming him!" She gasped and Bobby bit his tongue from saying that was hardly a reason for him anymore.

"He said they were demon birds." He stated instead and led Mary inside.

As soon as they reached the living room however, they both felt their hearts ease a little. Little, adorable and innocent Sammy ran around the study, airplane in his extended hand and he made rumbling noises as he raced around.

Dean wasn't seen anywhere downstairs.

Sam didn't seem bothered by that fact, and Mary hated how distant the brother's have become. Every time Sam tried to talk to his brother, he'd be brushed off or replied with an angry remark. Sam had eventually gotten the memo, and kept away. Mary would still spot the sad looks that Sam sent his way however, and it still broke her heart whenever Sam would ask Dean to read him a book before tucking him in.

Dean seemed to grow more and more angry the more alone he became though. But it was like a lose, lose situation anyway. He was angry when people crowded him and he was angry when people stayed away from him.

Mary sighed and made her presence known to Sam who immediately ran into her arms and hugged her tightly. It was sad that her son had more meat on his bones than her.

"Hi mommy." He said as he smiled up at her with bright hazelish green eyes, and Mary smiled gently back down at him as she brushed some of his hair from his face.

"Hi Sammy." She said to her youngest as she let go and made for the couch.

Sam had resumed his running around and went straight back into his own little world as Bobby padded over to her.

"Y'know. Christmas is coming up." He offered his keys to her and she raised an eyebrow.

"I know Bobby. I've already been getting them presents." She said and winced inwardly when Sam immediately perked at the word "presents."

Now it was suddenly like a moth to a light. Sam wouldn't detach himself from his mother even when she got up to get a drink.

"Are they Hot Wheels? Ooh Ooh what about that cool remote control Helicopter?" He asked excitedly as he followed her. Bobby smiled softly as he watched the boy trail after Mary like a lost puppy, endlessly asking questions and begging for clues on his gifts.

* * *

Dean Winchester sat upstairs in silence as thoughts ran through his head. Thoughts that no nearly seven year old should ever have.

Thoughts of murder, blood, monsters raced marathons in his mind and he grasped at his recently cut hair and whined lowly.

"Dean.."

The voice spoke to him again, and Dean wildly looked around the room, getting to his feet as he backed himself into a corner so he could gaze at the entire room at once.

"Wh-Who's there?" He whimpered as he hugged himself.

"Do not be alarmed child. I will not harm you." The voice softened itself as it seemed to draw nearer but Dean couldn't place from where it came from.

"How can I believe you?" Dean asked as he crouched and suddenly flinched as he felt the mark on his forearm begin to tingle. He moved his sleeve up to his elbow to see the mysterious mark beginning to glow.

"Because you've met me before, Dean." The voice became so much more clear and suddenly Dean spotted eyes in a corner. They were the yellow that have been haunting him and he shrunk back more.

"You.. You were the one that took my father, weren't you?" Dean demanded as he gripped at his arm and the eyes suddenly became a body as it morphed into the room and stood over Dean. His shadows changed into dark clothes and it looked like the being was possessing some homeless man or something.

"Yes, but I'm not harming him, Dean. I'm simply talking to him and I want to talk to you too." The demon offered a smile and his hand and went forward, expecting Dean to take it.

Dean was honestly about to. There was something about his mark that was attracted to the demon like metal to a magnet. It greeted the darkness the demon carried, and Dean shuddered slightly. It was foreign but at the same time comforting.

However, before he grasped the hand he saw something flash in the demon's eyes, and he recoiled as if burned. For a moment, he saw the demon's true intentions all at once and felt dread fill him.

"No! You're lying to me!" He shouted as he glared up at the demon, feeling fiery hate refil his veins and push away the want.

"Come with me brat or your old man gets it!" The demon snarled as it dove for Dean but the boy managed to slip under an opening of the demon's outstretched arm and raced through the room and ripped open the door and bolted downstairs.

"Mommy!" He shouted as he raced into the library, searching anxiously for his mother, or Bobby, or even Sammy.

To his horror he found them, but all unconscious, laying on the ground.

"No no no.." He whispered in a fast mantra as he leaned over Mary, terrified if he would find her dead.

"You can't escape me boy. No matter how far you run, I'll always be there." The demon suddenly spoke from behind and Dean immediately whirled around and wasn't expecting the back hand that sent him spiraling over his mother's body.

he began to crawl away when a boot fell heavy on his back and crushed him to the wooden floor and he wheezed as he dug his fingers into the edges of the old boards, desperate to pull himself to safety.

"You will be such a good servant to Lucifer. I mean, when you lose all this stupid childness of course." The demon carried on and smirked and leaned down to Dean.

"You will be such a nice son for him." He breathed and Dean stared up into his eyes, trying to think of what that meant when a gunshot went off.

"That's _my_ son you're talking about. He doesn't have another father." A voice rang out and the two turned their heads to see John standing there, looking worse for wear but his eyes still shone of determination.

"And how did you get here John?" The demon demanded as Dean shouted out to his father in joy. The demon simply pressed his boot further into Dean's spine and straightened himself to face John.

"Not important. Now back away from my son." John growled as he reached to his belt and revealed a gun and aimed it at the vessel's head, and the demon laughed.

"Oh John. No matter how many times you attack me, it doesn't work. This isn't my body. You're about to shoot a medical doctor from a Vancouver hospital. Congrats." He smirked, but instead of John giving up like the demon suspected he would, John sported a grin himself.

"Maybe an ordinary weapon can't harm you, but we all know what can." John stepped to a side as he watched Castiel suddenly storm into the room, blood covering his angel blade and clothes. Like John however, this didn't seem to affect the angel at all as he paced towards the demon. The demon immediately knew that the situation was getting out of hand, and glanced down at the boy under his foot one last time before he smoked out of the vessel and let the male drop to the ground.

Castiel paused and John immediately rushed forward and stared with horror at the sight of all of his family on the ground and he went to Dean first since he was still conscious and he could question him.

"Hey Dean, buddy." He pulled the doctor off of Dean and checked him up and down until Dean let tears fall down his cheeks and he hugged John tightly around the neck and began to sob.

"D-Daddy!" He cried out and John was overwhelmed with emotions for a second as he stared stupidly at his son's shoulder until he finally hugged Dean back tightly and breathed in the comforting scent of home.

"Hey Dean.. Sorry that I've been gone for so long. I need to see if everyone else is okay though. Go see Cas okay?" He asked and gave his head a final kiss as Dean released him and shakily nodded.

As John carefully gathered his family and Bobby into the library, he kept giving worrying glances to the angel and his eldest.

"Cas I need you to find Azazel. He might just be settling into a new vessel." John said as Castiel finished looking over the fallen and reported that they were simply unconscious from a blow to the head. He had healed any injury they might've gotten and was sitting with Dean. He heard John and threw a last look at Dean before he disappeared.

"Dean, kiddo are you alright?" John spoke up and the boy looked up with unshed tears in his eyes.

"I.. I just want to go home." He cried softly and his lip curled as he folded himself so his legs touched his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs.

John's heart broke as he watched his son sob into his knees and he walked over and sat by his side.

"But if we do Dean then bad things will happen. Besides, Bobby's house is pretty nice, right?" He asked as he rubbed Dean's shoulder who shrank away from his touch.

"No! I want to go back home because I miss it and everything was good there! There wasn't any of this stupid demon stuff!" He shouted through his tears and stood and raced outside, slamming the door loudly behind him.

"Dean!" John gasped as he stood to give chase, when a groan came from nearby and he spotted Bobby shifting as he tried to regain consciousness.

"Please keep them safe when you wake." John begged Bobby quietly as he ran out of the house and scanned the area quickly and spotted Dean running towards the edge of the property.

"Dean!" John shouted and if Dean heard him, he didn't listen or stop because he raced out onto the road and began to follow it. John ran after but Dean's head start was a huge one.

He wondered if he had enough time to grab one of Bobby's cars and race after Dean that way. His body was sore and tired after his grand escape with Castiel and he didn't feel like chasing after Dean. His heart sang differently though.

It told him that no matter what, come hell or high water that he'd always be there for his son. He'd kill any monster for his family, -and if things got bad, any human.

John had finally come to a conclusion that a car was needed to find his son, so when he hot-wired the least dusty and beat up truck in his line of sight, he took off to the road. As John gripped the steering wheel, he was questioning himself on which god he pissed off as to why his son was cursed when Castiel appeared in the passenger seat and made John shout and react blindly to punching the angel in the face. It was like his fist met a brick wall though and he winced and slowly withdrawn his hand and cradled it, half expecting it to be broken.

Castiel slowly craned his head back, completely unaffected by John's punch and looked over to the father.

"What are you doing?" He asked curiously as he looked beyond John and around.

"I'm going after Dean. He ran off."

John sighed and rubbed his hand a final time and settled it back onto the stick and felt it pulse heavily and returned his gaze to the road.

"Why?" Cas asked simply as he also scanned the road and ditches they went by in case there'd be a small boy somewhere.

"I dunno I think he was alarmed by reality." John sighed and Cas realized that he shouldn't comment on the use of the words for a once.

"Did you find the vessel Azazel was in?" John asked but Cas shook his head. After that they both stayed silent as John drove down the road until they both spotted a boy sitting under a tree with his knees up to his forehead and he was sitting curled with his damaged knees.

He pulled into park and immediately got out and jogged over to his son but made sure to approach him carefully. He had to treat this situation delicately or else he could lose his son again.

"Dean?" He made sure his boy was aware he was there, and made sure he seemed relaxed and kept his hands visible. He had to treat Dean like a wild animal right now.

"Leave me alone.." A quiet voice came from the boy and John's heart broke for his son.

"I can't do that son, I need you to come back to the house with me and Cas to make sure Mommy and Sammy and Bobby are alright." He spoke gently to him as he continued to approach. All at once however, the boy's head snapped up and for a moment, John thought he made a mistake. The darkness that shadowed over this boy couldn't be his son..

Suddenly Castiel darted forward and rested two fingers on the boy's head, and the form slumped forward and was caught by Cas.

"What the hell Castiel?!" John exclaimed as he rushed over and looked over Dean and was glad to see he was just resting, and he looked peaceful as he did when he slept.

"I just put him into a light slumber. He was beginning to panic and that's bad with the dark powers he holds dormant." Castiel rumbled out as he passed Dean to John who struggled with him for a moment before he shifted Dean into the right position in his arms and gazed down at the boy.

His son. He hasn't seen him in a year, and he's grown. His hair had darkened and been cut so it was spiky and it fit his face well. His face hadn't changed much except for the way his freckles turned a bit lighter.

John looked up at Cas who held open the back door to the truck, and John carefully set Dean down along the backseat.

"Let's get back to everyone." John grunted and got in while Cas just disappeared, probably to go check up on everyone and make sure they're alright.


End file.
